Learning to Teach: Are differences in students’ comprehension a function of their differential ability to learn?

“If judgments of my work are always external, I will be dependent on the judges, not myself.” – Bena Kallick

With her fourth grade class, Ms. Brown is reading a chapter on state government. The class is rather diverse, with many children coming from homes that vary in their socio-economic status, ethnic make-up, and parents’ language. In response to her probe questions, Ms. Brown finds great disparities in students’ comprehension of the topic. In pondering this state of affairs, Ms. Brown reasons that if everyone in the class is receiving the same input, then the differences in students’ understanding must be a function of their differential ability to learn. In the teacher’s cafeteria, Mr. Brown relates her theory to a colleague.